Brick-machine



(No Model.) 4 Shets-Sheet 1.

T T WOOD BRICK MACHINE.

NQQ 553,885.

WITNESSES 35 My; ww

ANDREW EGHAHAM, PMDTOYUTHDYWASHYNGTOKD C (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

T; T. WOOD.

, BRIG-K MAGHINB. No. 553,885. PatentedPeb. 4, 1896.

QM 65mm} 01704, 4). W i

(No Model.) 1 4-Sheets-Sheet 3-. T. T. WOOD. BRICK MACHINE.

No. 553,885. Patented P55. 4; "1896 55gm /M 44 NITED STATES PATENT ()FFIcE,

THOMAS T. \VOOD, OF ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN.

BRICK-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,885, dated February 4, 1896.

Application filed October 5, 1894.

To a whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, THOMAS T. \VOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. J oseph, in the county of Berrien and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brick-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. This invention relates to improvements, as hereinafter set forth, in brick-machines.

The invention is designed for the manufacture of bricks and blocks from either dry or moist sand, clay or other materials.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation, viewed from the left-hand side, of my improved brick-machine. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation viewed from the other or right-hand side of the machine. Fig. 3 represents a front elevation of the machine, and Fig. 4 represents a section taken on the line a a of Fig. 3.

1 represents the main framing of the machine.

c are journal-boxes.

2 represents slotted uprights or guides within which the cross-bar or head 3 works and is guided in its vertical movements up and down. To the under face of the crossbar or head 3 are secured by screws 7), or

otherwise, the dies or plungers 3. These dies or plungers, of which there may be any desired number greater or less than the four shown in the drawings, are formed with inner openings or ways 0, to facilitate the application or removal of the retaining-screws Z), and with upper and lower plates cl, which, with the sides 6, may be formed in a single casting of metal, as iron.

f represents a steel plate secured to the under face of each bottom plate cl by screws g, or their equivalent,passed through said plates d and into the upper portion of said steel plate The object of thus applying these steel plates is to insure a smooth and even pressure on the sand or other material employed and prevent its sticking to the dies or plungers, which is liable to happen when the under face of the plungers is of east-iron or other mate- Serial No. 524,986. (No model.)

rial than steel, and also to strengthen and pre vent wear.

g represents connecting bars orrods, which at their upper ends are mounted on the respective ends of the cross-bar or head 3, and each have at or about the center of their length an inwardly-extending roller h, for a purpose to be presently described, said bars or rods g having at their lower ends a slotted enlargement '6, with which crank-pins j on the main gear-Wheels 7c engage. Each of these connecting-bars g 1n ay be formed either in a single piece, as shown, or of two rods suitably connected together.

4 represents the mold-box, which may have any number of molds therein greater or less than the number shown in the drawings, according to the number of bricks or blocks it is desired the machine shall make at each operation.

5 represents the feed or measuring box, the sand or clay receptacles or boxes 6 of which correspond in number with the number of molds at. This box is preferably formed of steel and, as shown in the drawings, Figs. 3 and 4:, each box 6 is formed with downwardly-flaring inner side walls 7. By thus gradually increasing the width of these boxes (3 from top to bottom the material to be pressed into bricks or blocks will freely pass therefrom into the molds without clogging or adheringto the sides of said boxes 6, a defect in all brick-machines where the mold-supply boxes have straight vertical side walls in their interior. To each side of the feed-box is secured, or formed integrally therewith, as desired, a rack Z, with which engage toothed segments in, the rocking of which serves to reciprocate the feed-box 5 transversely of the machine and so as to carry the same forward onto the mold-box to supply the ma terial thereto or rearwardly therefrom bebeneath the hopper 6, which is located at the rear of the machine.

n represents a table or plate on which the feed-box rests while being filled with material and on which it is slid to the mold-box, so as to secure the retention of the material in said feed-box until it assumes a position above the mold-box.

blocks onto the said steel plate as.

The pair of segment-gears are connected by a transverse shaft 0, journaled in boxes a. To one end of said shaft 0 is keyed one end of a short lever-arm p, the other end of which is connected by a link q with the lever 7, which latter is journalcd at its lower end at s in the framing 1.

15 represents a stud, pin, or roller extending transversely from the lever 0' and engaging with a multiple-curved cam 15, secured, as at u, to the arms of one of the main gearwheels 7;. Consequently, as said gears 71; revolve, the cam 15 operates on said pin, stud, or rollert to rock the lever 7', and thereby reciprocate the link q, and, through the medium of the lever 1), segments m, and rack 42, reciprocate the feed-box to and from the moldbox.

The hopper u may be agitated by any suitable mechanism, while the machine is in operation, to secure the free feed of the material to and the rapid filling of the boxes 5, a plate or slide (0 extending rearwardly from and in line with the top of said box 5, closing the bottom of the hopper while the feed-box is in its foremost position and supplying the mold-box, so as to prevent the escape of the material from the hopper while the feed-box is in its foremost position.

10 represents the vertically-reciprocating lower table on which are carried the independent steel plates .1 on which the bricks or blocks are pressed by the plun gers. Mounted on or journaled in a dependence 2 of said table are a pair of friction-rollers 9, which engage with a pair of cams or eccentrics 10, mounted 011 the shaft 11, connecting the main gears. As these cams are revolved to bring their cam portions into engagement with said rollers 0 the table with the steel plate x thereon is raised against the bottom of the mold box. Then, the mold-box having been filled, the plungers descend and press the bricks or That having been accomplished, the table descends, carrying with it the steel plate with the bricks or blocks thereon. Said plate wit-h the bricks or blocks thereon is then removed without handling the bricks, and through the medium of the automatic steel-plate feed, consisting of the cam 15, cam-roller 20, and jointed leverarms 21, 22, 23, and 24;, the latter connected with a slide 25, supported on a bracket 26, a new steel plate is automatically slid onto the lower reciprocating table 10, which plate as it is slid to position pushes the brick-laden steel plate 00 onto the receiving table or bracket 27, from whence it is removed by hand.

'19 represents gears mounted on the shaft 3 and meshing with the wheels 70.

\Vhen the Crank-pinj has made its stroke or gone as far as it goes, the cam-plate on the wheel strikes the roller h and carries down the plunger and table. The table then remains down for a short space of time until said crank-pin rides up in the slot in the arms g, whereupon the upward movement of the table commences to bring the steel plate beneath the molds in readiness for another pressing operation.

18 is a support for the shaft 11. It may have a cap a as shown, to exclude dust.

30 represents stop-pins which pass loosely through the ends of the mold-box, their lower ends being adapted, when the plungers descend, to rest upon the reciprocating table, their upper ends projecting upward of the mold-box a sufficient distance to receive the impact of the cross-bar 3, the object of said pins being, by their impact as just set forth, to prevent the descent of the plungers so far as to compress the bricks beyond the desired thickness.

14 represents a pair of cams on the wheels 713, with which, when the pressing operation is completed, the rollers it come in contact, said cams 14 operating upon said rollers 7b to still further draw down the plunger-s simultaneously with the descent of the table carrying the steel plate 011 which the bricks rest, so as to carry the plun gers into the molds a sut ficient distance to secure the ejection of the bricks or blocks therefrom.

V hat I claim is- 1. A brick-machine, consisting of a framing, transverse shafts journaled therein, main and supplemental gearing mounted on said shafts and intermeshing with each other, pins extending outwardly from said main gears, a cross-head having depending eyed rods en.- gaging said pins and inwardly-extendin g rollers mounted on said depending rods, plungers removably connected with and depending from said cross-head, a mold-box, a moldfeed box, toothed racks secured to said feedboX, segments journaled in the framing and engaging said racks, a lever having connection at one end with said segments, a link connected with the other end of said lever, a lever connected at its upper end with said link and having at its lower end a transverse stud or roller, a cam carried by one main gear and engaging the stud or roller on the lower lever and multiple-curved cams also carried by said main gears and engaging the rollers on the rods depending from the crosshead, a table having depending portions, friction-rollers journaled in said dependencies, and cams mounted on the main shaft and engaging said friction-rollers, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a brick-machine, a cross-head having horizontal side flanges at its bottom portion, a series of spaced, or separated, hollow plungers removably connected to said flanges and having removable bottom plates, a multiplechambered mold-feed box, each chamber be in g of increasing width from top to bottom, a multiple-chambered mold-box, drive-gears, crank-pins extending outwardly therefrom, cams carried by said gears, rods depending from said cross-head and having eyed lower ends connecting with said crank-pins, inwardly-extending rollers carried by said rods, racks secured to the sides of the mold-feed box, toothed segments engaging said racks, a rock-shaft connecting said segments and j ournaled on the frame of the machine, a short lever connected with said rock-shaft, a link connecting at one end with said short lever, a lever connected at its upper end with the other end of said link and having pivotal bearing at its lower end on said frame, and a roller carried by said latter lever and engaging with the cam on one of the drivegears, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination with the hopper, of a feed-box, racks on opposite sides of said feedbox, toothed segments journaled on a transverse shaft and adapted to engage said racks, a short lever connected at its upper end with said shaft, a lever having link connection at its upper end with the lower end of said short lever and at its lower end having bearing in the framing, actuating-gears, cams mounted thereon, and a pin or roller extending transversely from the lower portion of the lower lever and engaging with one of said cams, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination of the vertically-reciprocating table having depending portions, rollers j ournaled in said dependencies, main gears, gear-connecting shaft, cams located on said shaft and engaging said rollers, a brickreceiving plate having loose bearing support on said table and a plate-feed consisting of a bracket located below the mold-box, a cam connected with the main gear, a slide having bearing on said bracket and jointed leverarms connecting said cam and slide, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination with the hopper, of a feed-box having a horizontal outer extension in the same plane as the top of the feed-box, racks on opposite sides of said box, toothed segments journaled on a transverse shaft and adapted to engage said racks, a short lever connected at its upper end with said shaft, a

lever having link connection at its upper end short lever connected with said rock-shaft, a

link connected with said lever, a lower lever connected at its upper end with the lower end of said link, and means, substantially as described, connecting the lower end of said lower lever and the operative mechanism, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. The main drivewheels having pins extending therefrom and outwardly-extending cams, a reciprocating table, brick-receiving plate carried thereby, mold-box, a cross-head, depending arms or rods at each end of said cross-head having slotted lower portions with which said pins engage, and inwardly-extending rollers with which said cams engage, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS T. WOOD. WVitnesses:

E. A. PAUL, CHAS. J. GoooH. 

